I've got a line on a set of axles from a 1977 1/2 F-250. Front is a HP D44HD, which I think means it should have 1/2" axle tubes (please correct me if I'm wrong). The rear is a D60. Axle width WMS to WMS should be around 68". I'm looking for some opinions on whether or not I should jump on these to swap under my dub or if I should wait to find a narrower HP44/9" combo. I haven't decided if I'm going to run 35's or jump up to 37's, so I'm a little concerned about the size of the D60 pumpkin dragging over rocks every time I wheel. I guess I could always shave the bottom of the D60 to get it almost the same amount of clearance as a D44, though. Opinions? Pros and cons?

I got the same thing lined up and I don't know what to do either. I just want to hit trails and not crawl or mud and my brother inlaw says to keep what I got. That being said everyone I work with says they see stock jeep axels snapped all the time up here in Alaska. What do the Dana 44's come in?

I would wait for a 9/44 combo or JK axles, they will give you the strength for 37s and wont hang as low as the 60. But I'm sure some people with experience on these combos will be able to give some input. Unless you know you will be on 37's and want to invest the money for a 60 and hydro, I'd stay with the smaller options.

I thought about waiting for the 44/9 combo, but these are available right now and I'm impatient. I found a nice shave kit from Blue Torch Fab that gives you about the same clearance as a 44 in the rear, so even running 35's with it shouldn't be a problem. I know a 44/9 would be a good setup for 35's or 37's, but I think I'd have a little more confidence with the 60 out back. The biggest downside I can see is actually not from the 60 but the 44. The HP44 from the F250's have 1/2" axle tubes. That axle is HEAVY. The guy selling the first set I found said that the front 44 actually weighs more than the rear 60 because of it. Not sure if I believe that, but it will be crazy heavy regardless. And I'm going to have to get new wheels for the 8x6.5 bolt pattern. I'm going to go with 5" BS to keep the width reasonable since these axles are about 68-69" wide. Mickey Thompson Classic III Black wheels fit the bill for that, but they're pricey. But then again, this whole project is going to be pricey.

I got the same thing lined up and I don't know what to do either. I just want to hit trails and not crawl or mud and my brother inlaw says to keep what I got. That being said everyone I work with says they see stock jeep axels snapped all the time up here in Alaska. What do the Dana 44's come in?

If you're not rock crawling, I wouldn't think you'd need to swap in new axles. What size tire are you running?

35's are pushing it for a stock d30, but the D44A could handle it if you're not crawling. And with some C-gussets and chromolly's in the front, you'd probably be fine for mud and sand. I wouldn't swap axles unless you're gonna crawl it, though. That's just my opinion. I have a close friend that wheels the crap out of his JK Sahara on sand and mud with a stock D30 in the front and he's never broken anything. He only upgraded when he decided to start hitting rocks with us.

As for my build, I'm having a hell of a time getting a hold of the guy that has the other set of axles I found. They're the same thing, HP44/60 but out of a '79 F-250. They're identical to the first set I found, though. Hoping he gets back to me this week so I can go ahead and buy them and start tearing them down. It'll take me a month or 2 to get all the parts I need to build them, but I want to get started as soon as possible. The lower spring perch on the passenger front side is literally falling apart, so I want to get a new set to put under there ASAP so I don't have to spend any money buying/welding a new spring perch on this stock axle.

Got some work done on the WJ today. Got to try out the Hi-Lift cutouts in the bumper. Needless to say, this thing is plenty strong. And before someone says something about safety, there is a jackstand on the frame rail.

The lower spring perch on the driver's side was toast. Literally rusted away.

Cut most of it off and ground it down to bare metal.

Used some spare steel laying around my buddy's garage to fab up a new perch or cup or whatever you call that thing and welded it in place, then gave it a coat of spray bed liner for rust prevention before putting the isolator and spring back in place.

While we had the spring out, I took off my garbage IRO upper spring retainers. They attach with a bolt into the thin sheet metal. After just a few wheeling trips, the little bit of contact from the spring had stripped out the threads. So we replaced it with some 1 1/2" pipe that we just welded to the upper spring perch in the same spot. The center hole is where the IRO retainers mounted. There's just not enough steel there to be sturdy.

And here's the new spring retainer. Should have just done this to begin with and saved myself $50.

We did both retainers but only the driver's side spring perch. The other side was more or less intact and these axles aren't going to be under there for long. I might fix the other after I remove the axle and sell it.

When I got home from my friend's house, I decided to do a little house keeping on the Jeep. The wheel wells were starting to shed paint in a few places and there were a couple very small spots that were beginning to rust, so I sprayed them down with Simple Green and hit them with a stiff bristle brush to knock off the dirt and whatnot. Then I repainted them with some Rustoleum semi-gloss enamel. Looks MUCH better and is protected against future rust.

Old and busted:

New hotness:

I'm going to pull my front bumper back off and hit it with the same semi-gloss paint. The flat black is ok, but I think I like the slightly glossy finish better. The bumper has a fair amount of rock rash on it already, so I need to touch it up anyway. Figure I might as well just pull it off and do the whole thing over how I want it.

Did some more cleaning and painting today on the undercarriage. Much better now. I didn't take anything off to get to the hard to reach spots, but when I do my tcase swap, I'll be able to access a few more areas and clean/spray them as well. I was able to get just about everything, though. Looks brand new under there, now.